Some Bristol Birding

 

I generally do very little birding when visiting my relatives in Bristol. On a visit a couple of years ago, I made the effort to see Tawny Owl, which is resident by my aunt’s flat where I stay during my visits. I also saw a few Firecrests. This cracking little gem – an upgraded version of the New World’s Golden-crowned Kinglet – is one of those species benefiting from the warming trend in northwest Europe and has become a regular winter visitor in the city in suitable habitat.

I always regular visited Sea Mills, close to my mum’s home. The River Avon is tidal here and it has always been a regular location for wintering Common Sandpipers, which are rather local as winterers in the UK. Common Redshank occurs here as well in reasonable numbers, although the other regular wintering shorebirds appeared to have declined over the years. I made a couple of visits this time and saw no Curlews, Lapwings or Dunlin. I have not seen the last two for some years and they are not as regular as they used to be.

In contrast, Oystercatchers have become fairly regular the last few years and I saw a pair on one of my visits this time around, along with a couple of Common Sandpipers and a dozen Redshanks. The second visit has a pair of Canada Goose, a species that is systematically taking over the UK and new Sea Mills tick for me in the form of four Common Shelducks.

Mudflats on the River Avon at Sea Mills Harbour

The River Avon drains into the Severn Estuary, which has the second highest tidal range in the world. I was brought up in world of steeply sloping mudflats and massive tidal ranges. A complete contrast to Santa Barbara where the tidal range maybe reaches 7 feet at the extreme. The photo above shows the mudflats at Sea Mills Harbor.

One reason I don’t bird much around Bristol is that the better sites require a car to access them and I don’t want to go to the hassle and expense of car rental. However, I decided to look into the viability of using public transport to visit the Severn Beach area. There are extensive mudflats and saltmarshes here and recently some managed shallow pools have been created for birds. The initial investigation in the bus services indicated it would take at least three hours to get relatively close, followed by a half an hour walk to an area that in itself required a lot of walking. After dropping the idea, it occurred to me that I should look at the train service. This was the answer as there were frequent trains from Sea Mills to Severn Beach that took slightly over 20 minutes. It was also far cheaper.

On my last Saturday in the UK, a break in the relentless cloud, wind and rain made for a beautiful morning and I jumped on an early morning train to Severn Beach. On arrival, I walked north under the second Severn Bridge towards the Pilning Wetlands, where the shallow scrapes are. One bird I was hoping to see was (Northern) Wheatear – one of the traditional harbingers of spring for birders in the UK. On arrival at the wetlands, I ran into another birder who told me he had earlier seen one in the direction I had come from. Scanning back, I picked up the bird on a stone wall and walked to get closer. The bird was a male and gave nice looks, although a bit distant for good photos.

Male Wheatear

The wetlands held the expected assortment of dabbling ducks – Teal, Wigeon, Shoveler and Gadwall – and several displaying (Northern) Lapwings. A noisy pair of Little Grebes showed well. The adjacent saltmarsh and mudflats yielded Oystercatcher, Curlew, Shelduck and Black-headed Gulls.

I walked north along seawall for a couple of miles enjoying the pleasant sunshine and serenaded by Skylarks singing continuously along the route. A couple of singing Chiffchaffs were another classic early spring migrant, but no Sand Martins (Bank Swallows) showed up. I found a mixed flock of Pied Wagtails and Meadow Pipits feeding in a field along with a pair of dapper Stonechats. At least three (Eurasian) Kestrels were present. This is a regular location for this species, which has declined quite a lot in western Britain since my departure, although more frequent in East Anglia and on the South Coast.

Female Kestrel

On the return walk, I caught up with a Little Ringed Plover that had arrived a few days before. I then noticed a commotion over the saltmarsh and spied a female Merlin chasing Skylarks and pipits high into the air. Merlin is decidedly uncommon in the Bristol area and I only recall seeing it a very few times. The tide had come in considerably and I counted 44 Ruddy Turnstones on the remaining area of exposed flats, which have extensive areas of seaweed-covered rocks here.

The Second Severn Crossing

Although I am reluctant to leave the Santa Barabra area during migration, I really need to visit Bristol during that period to enjoy the shorebird migration at Severn Beach and the Pilning Wetlands.